Global Immigration Immigration News

In 2012, one billion people made an international trip, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. David Scowsill of the WTTC said 'this is an astounding milestone. There is an inexorable growth in the number of people who want to travel around the world'.

A global poll conducted by Gallup suggests that around 640m people around the world, 13% of the world's adult population, want to emigrate. Most, but by no means all of these come from Asia and Africa; most want to move to find new opportunities in Europe or North America.

The poll found that over 150m people worldwide, about 4% of the world's population, would like to move to the United States. A further 45m want to move to the UK and 42m to Canada. Large numbers also want to move to France, Australia and to Saudi Arabia.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has issued a report which says that 479,300 people from the developing world sought asylum in the developed world in 2012. The number is the highest total since 2003. Most are fleeing violence and war. 24,800 Syrians made asylum claims in the developed world in 2012. This was three times the number in 2011 but a mere fraction of the estimated 1m Syrians who are thought to have fled Syria and to be living in Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan.

The United Nations has issued a request for US$1.5bn to help support 5m Syrians displaced by the Syrian conflict. The UN has said that it needs US$519.6m to support 4m people internally displaced in Syria and a further US$1bn to support 1m people who, the UN believes, will be seeking assistance from relief workers by July 2013. It says that this is the 'largest short-term humanitarian appeal ever'.

Immigrants made up 10% of the population in OECD countries in 2010, according to a new report from the OECD.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development was founded in 1961 by 20 countries, mostly in western Europe and North America to encourage trade. Since then, another 14 countries have joined. The US, the UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan and New Zealand are all members.

Hays, the global recruitment company has issued its Global Skills Index 2012, a report on the state of the global labour market. It has studied labour markets worldwide and come up with findings and recommendations to help eliminate skills shortages in the global workforce. This is the first time Hays has carried out 'an in-depth review of global skills and employment trends'.